Balance and CounterBalance
by Handwithquill
Summary: A RumBelle fic vaguely based on the myth of Hades and Persephone. "He inhaled deeply and shook the image away. The child would earn the name Goddess when she was grown."
1. Chapter 1

Rumpelstiltskin circled the edge of the room, sipping from a cup of very good wine. The main ballroom of the High Castle was crowded for the Mid-Summer Feast. It was one of the few time he was allowed in the High Castle. His domain of deals and tricks, and his finesse of always coming out on top in them, had made him not so well liked in their world. Not that he cared, most of the time the festival bored him. Thought after night fall, some people found the courage, whether real or liquid, to approach him for deals.

He took another turn, smirking at Charming when their eyes met. The em_Patron of Justice's/em_, eyes hardened and took a half step in front of his pregnant wife. Snow put her hand on her husband's arm. Her em_Wise Innocents/em_ was clear in her eyes even as she rolled them at Rumpelstiltskin. He inclined his head at her and continued walking, listening to the gossip.

It was usually the best indicator of who would be asking for his help later that night. But he was disappointed that all the gossip was about the daughter of the _emFlower Maker/em_. Maurice, who was charged with making sure the human world had vegetation, both flora and agriculture, was also known to be obsessively protective of his daughter. So much so, that in the eight centuries since her birth, very few people had seen her. Charming and Snow had finally demanded that Maurice present his daughter at court.

All were speculating on what the young woman would look like, weather her roll in the hierarchy would take after her father in growing things or after her unknown mother, weather she would remain at court or return with her father after mid-summer. And a bunch of other trivial things about the girl he didn't care about.

With a sigh he retired to a dark corner of the room to wait and see if some mischief would present itself later. Taking another sip, he opened the part of his mind where his gift resided. His ability of_ emForesight/em_ was something that very few people knew about and he intended to keep it that way. As he looked over all present, one or two things appeared to him that he thought he could use. He focused on Geppetto. The _emToymaker's/em_ heart still longed for a child. He might be able to help with that. As soon as he figured out a price he would approach him. His mind moved over to Regina. The _emMistress of Vengeance/em_ was planning something against Snow again. He had to figure out how serious it was before he decided who he would help.

He was pulled away from his musing as a shock went around the room. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the room. The rooms shock and attention was on the pair just entering and approaching Snow and Charming. The _emFlower Maker/em_ had arrived with his daughter.

The others in the room had turned to whisper to each other as Maurice presented the child. For that's what she was. A mortal would say she was no more the thirteen summers. After the introduction were done, Maurice placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and guided her to one of the tables. He filled a plate for her and poured her a very watered down cup of wine.

Movement caught his eye and he sighed before taking another sip of his wine as he saw Regina making her way towards him.

"Rumple." she purred, "I'm curious what you think about tonight scandal?"

"Scandal?" he scoffed, "Nothing happening tonight even comes close to earning that name."

"Well, I find it em_quite/em _shocking that Maurice would do such a thing!"

"Really, dearie? With how protective he is said to be of the girl?"

"Yes, well, enough about that," she said, waving her hand in the air, "I'd thought you'd like to join me in my next bit of mischief."

He half listened to her before sending her off in a huff with his non-committal to her intrigue. He circled the room a few more time, making small deals here and there. But for the rest of the night, Rumpelstiltskin found his eyes wandering to the child.

Most only saw him as a dealer and trickster, too immersed in what they could get, or lose, from him. They never realized that he was _emBalance/em._ Neither good or bad, neither light or dark. The world had a natural flow and he kept it. The child was a stone in the river. And his nature was unable to ignore her unnaturalness, it slid up and down his senses, screamed at the wrongness of the girl still being a child.

He tried to decipher the fragmented images flittering in front of his minds eye. His foresight told him that the girl was important, but nothing was discernible. It wasn't until the child looked over and caught his eyes that one small piece became clear.

He saw a young woman. Her chestnut curls were pulled to one side of her pale neck, head ducked as she looked out of the top of her eyes. Incredible blue eyes framed by lush eyelashes. One side of her mouth was quirked in a knowing smile and she held out her hand.

He inhaled deeply and shook the image away. The child would earn the name Goddess when she was grown. He watched as her father saw where she was looking and tugged her to him. He leaned over and grasped both her shoulders and he told her something sternly, then pulled her to the other side of the room. If, that is, her father ever let her grow.

Rumpelstiltskin knew he should stop. This was quickly becoming an obsession. Yet he still materialized in the corpse of trees bordering a meadow full of flowers. As usual she was there, braiding flowers while her handmaidens ineffectually watched.

He sat and leaned back against a tree, ankles crossed, as he watched her brow furrow as she pick through the pile in front of her for the next flower to add to her chain. It had been just over three months since Mid-Summer. He couldn't explain it, but the image of her full grown and the sense of her future importance kept bringing him back.

He scanned the images his foresight gave him again, looking for any clue about how to balance this situation. Something to tell him in which direction her fate lay. Everything was too hazy and flickering by too fast to make any sense of it. Until that one appeared again. The one of her as an adult. It was a little clearer. He could now see that she was wearing a blue dress the made her eyes stand out even more. Her hand was held out and after a moment it beckon who ever she was looking at closer.

He jerked and banged his head against the tree when he realized that his hand was extended as if to take hers. He blinked as shook himself. He couldn't keep doing this, it was even starting to creep him out. So he decided he wouldn't come back until he figured out what to do. He looked over one more time, but she wasn't in the meadow anymore. She was standing in front of him.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello, Little One." He sat forward and they stared at each other.

"Papa said to stay away from you," she remarked, sitting down in front of him. She picked a couple of flowers out of her basket and stated braiding them. "He says you do bad things."

"Oh? If he said stay away, why did you come over?"

"Because sometimes Papa's wrong. He thinks something's bad or dangerous when it's not. He says he's trying to protect me, but..." She trailed off, and bit her lip.

Rumpelstiltskin smirked, even as his senses tingled at the feeling of wrongness the child radiated.

"So you decided to see if the monster was really a monster?" She nodded. "What if I am a monster?"

"You're not." she stated simply. He blinked.

"Oh? How do you know?"

She met his eyes and tilted her head. She opened her mouth and furrowed her brows, before shrugging. "I just do." she finished the flower chain by braiding the ends into a crown. She looked at it for a moment, before shuffling over on her knees to him and placing it on his head. She frowned and shifted it so it was lopsided. "There!"

She moved back over to her basket, and her smile was full of innocence. And it was what let him know what had to be done. He sighed.

"Belle!" The shout came from the meadow. Rumpelstiltskin looked to see her handmaidens were looking for her. The one with a liking for red clothing and the pet wolf was the closest. "Belle! Where are you!"

"Over here, Ruby!" The girl stood and brushed off her dress. He stood as well. "I have to go now." She turned to go but he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Little One." She looked at him confused and he glanced up to see Ruby's pet wolf charging towards them. He also saw the moment that Ruby recognized him. Her eyes widened and she screamed.

"Belle, Run!"

"I really am sorry," He apologized again, before hosting the girl into his arms. "But I really am a monster."

The girls eyes went wide with shock as purple smoke enveloped them.


	2. Chapter 2

Belle struggled as the smoke dissipated. He set her down quickly and she turned around to see they were in the great room of a castle. There was a long table in the middle of the room next to a giant fireplace. Along the edges of the room were pedestals with all sorts of different things on them. In the far corner, near one of the curtained windows, was a small platform. On it stood a spinning wheel, a basket of straw next to the stool. She spun back to him

"Take me back!" He stood straighter, arms crossed over his chest. She swallowed against the tears she could feel forming in her eyes. "Please! Take me back. Ruby was looking for me." She grabbed his hand and tugged. "Please, Rumpelstiltskin! Take me back to Papa. He's going to be worried!"

"I'm sorry, Little One." He turned and started out the double doors. She followed. He was already halfway up the main staircase by the time she caught up. He turned right at the top and down another hallway. Near the end he stopped and pressed his hand against a door. It had only opened a little bit when he stopped and looked at her. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he shut the door and started walking again. "This way."

He opened a small door at the end of the corridor and quickly went up the spiraling steps. He stopped on the second landing and exited the door, pushing her through first. They moved down another hallway, torches coming alive as they passed. Again, he stopped mid-way down the hall and nodded to a door. She bit her lip before she opened it.

The room was large. To the left of the door was a huge four poster bed, piled high with blankets and pillows. A deep chest sat at the foot board. Across from that, between to floor to ceiling widows, was an armoire. On the far wall was a fireplace with a fire already alight. Between it and the bed was a small table with two chairs. On the right was desk next to a door. It was opened a little and when Belle stepped into the room, she saw it had a tub and a changing screen in it.

She turned to see that Rumpelstiltskin hadn't entered the room, but was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed again.

"I don't want this." She started shaking her head, her throat tightened and her eyes started to sting again as she realized that he meant to keep her. "Please," she sobbed, "just take me home. Take me back to Papa!"

He sighed, taking the few steps into the room to kneel in front of her. "I can't, Little One," He reached up and gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Not yet."

"What do you mean, not yet? When then?"

He opened his mouth, but shut it with a snap as his eyes narrowed and seemed to glare out the window. He pushed himself up and towards the door. "I'll be back in a little bit. Stay here."

The door closed behind him with a clank as it locked. "No!" She ran to the door and yanked on the handle. "Let me go! Rumpelstiltskin! Please, let me go!" She pounded on the door. "Let me out! Let me go! Please, I want to go home!"

As her hands stared to hurt, she slid down the door and started to sob.

When Belle opened her eyes, she was laying in the bed. It was full dark outside so the room was illuminated by the fireplace. She wiped at her face as she sat up, the dried tears making it itch. She looked over at the door but it was still shut, so she slipped out of the bed and made her way to the bathing room. The candles in the sconces lit as she entered. On the left was a vanity, a basin sat in front of the mirror. She knelt on the stool in front of the table and when she touched to basin, it filled with water. Warm water too, as she could see the steam rising from it.

She dipped the cloth next to the basin into it and washed her face. Once done, she went out into the room and looked out the windows. The moon was enough to let her see that the castle was nestled in a mountainous area. One small path led beyond the castle gates into the woods and down the mountain. The fire kept the room warm, but there was a slight chill coming in from the window, so she moved on.

She opened the wardrobe and immediately pulled out the shawl hanging inside the door out, wrapping it around her shoulders. The rest of the wardrobe was filled with clothes that looked like they would fit her. She had just switched out her sandals for a warmer pair of shoes, when there was a knock on the door. She turned as it opened.

"Good, you're up," he said, stepping inside. "Are you hungry? I have dinner ready in the Great Hall. Or if you feel more comfortable, I can have a tray brought up?"

"I-I'll go," she said, wanting out of the room. He nodded and pushed the door open more, hand extended for her to precede him. But when she passed him, he halted her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him as he frowned down at her.

"I'm sorry for keeping you in here earlier, it was unavoidable." he told her, kneeling down to look her in the eye. "But I promise you, I will not do it again, if in return, you promise me that if I ask you to return to your room, will do it. It will be for your safety. I have many visitors and not all of them are nice people."

She saw in his eyes that he was being sincere, so she nodded. He smiled as he stood and guided her out of the room. They went back to the stairwell at the end of the corridor.

"You can go anywhere in the castle," he said as the stepped onto the landing. "Except for there." He pointed and she followed his hand upwards. "My workroom is in that tower and is too dangerous for you to go in alone."

She nodded again and they continued down.

The fire in the Great Hall was blazing and the large table was loaded with food. There was only two seats, a large one at the head and a smaller one to the left of it. She sat in the smaller one when he motioned to it. He filled her plate, then his. She picked up the fork and pushed the food around the plate.

"Not hungry?" he asked. She shrugged, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"I miss Papa." She heard him sigh and glanced up at him. "How-How long are you going to keep me here?"

"I don't know, Little One. As long as it takes."

"As long as what takes?"

He didn't answer, but raised his hand and twirled it around. Purple smoke surrounded her plate and it disappeared.

"It's on the table in your room, in case you get hungry later. It will stay warm for you." He stood and walked over to the spinning wheel in the corner. She pushed away form the table and made her way towards the double doors "You can explore the castle, if you wish," he spoke up, "The castle will see to your needs, but please don't try to leave the castle tonight. The garden is extensive, but much better seen by the light of day."

He didn't turn, but kept feeding straw into the spinning wheel. She hurried out the doors.

That night she had walked around a little, looking in random rooms, but they held nothing interesting. She retired to her room after a short time. The next morning there was a large breakfast on the table in the Great hall again, but she still wasn't hungry, so she asked if she could walk in the gardens. He said yes, told her she could go anywhere she wanted, so long as she stayed in the castle walls.

She left the castle by the main double doors and took the pathway to the left. Cobbled paths branched out between different beds of flowers. As she walked she saw that the progression of bed were grouped by color, perennial and annuals mixed together. She spent the day walking from bed to bed. First the Coral Bells, the red and pink blooms swaying gently in a light breeze. Then she moved over to a bed of Sweet pea vines. By the time she made it to the Lavender and the Wisteria, the sun was fading.

She hurried in, not wanting to find out what he would do if she was out after dark. The table in the Great Hall was once again filled with food. She sat in the chair from last night and breathed in the bunch of flowers she brought in with her.

"What's that?" he asked suddenly from behind her.

"Lavender!" she squeaked as she jumped. "I-I picked it in the garden. I was going to put it in my room. Is-is that okay?"

She suddenly realized that he might not like any of the flowers to have been picked. Papa always let her, but then he could always make more.

He leaned over the back of her chair grasped her hand to raise the flowers. He inhaled their scent. "Of course," he told her, moving over to his seat. "Take anything from the gardens that you wish. They are cultivated by magic. I'm sure you noticed that some of the flowers are currently out of season." She nodded. "May I ask, why Lavender?"

She looked down at the flowers in her hand and brought them up to her nose. "Papa went to make some yesterday when he left me with Ruby and Ashley." she said softly. She missed Papa so much. This was the longest she had ever been away from him and she wondered how worried he was for her. She could feel her eyes starting to sting with tears and she fled the room, not wanting to cry in front of Rumpelstiltskin.

She ran to her room and flung herself onto her bed. She placed the Lavender on the pillow next to her. As her eyes started to close, she could see on the other side of the Lavender, a tray sitting on the table in front of her fireplace.

Belle continued to spend most of her time in the gardens. On the next day she took the right path and spent the day playing among the blue and yellow flowers. On the third day she found a herb garden. It was meticulously laid out. The beds were all different sizes, but they were in alphabetical order. She knelt down next to a large bed with all the different kinds of mint plants.

She had gone with Papa once, to the human world, and had played in stream Papa was planing the mint near. After he was done, he picked a few leaves and they placed one under their tongues, before drinking from the stream. She picked a sprig to take up to her room. The Lavender was already wilting.

She moved on from the herb garden around the back of the castle, stopping as she came upon a neatly tended shrub. She arched her neck and took a step back trying to see the top. It was very tall. It also went both left and right. Looking both ways, she went right until she found the end. There was only a step or two before the hedge started again. Inside the opening was another path going left.

She smiled as as realized that she found a maze!

She ran back to the garden. One of the flower beds had large stone in it. She took off her shawl and place a good number in it, before tying it and hoisting it over her shoulder. She hurried back to the maze and coming to the first fork, placed a stone just inside the left turn, before going that way.

She didn't know how far she got in the maze by the time the sun was setting, but she made sure her markers were secure, before returning inside.

She sat in her seat at the table as she tried to map out what she knew of the castle in her mind. If she went up three floors, she thought there was a room that had a window that look out to the back of the castle. Of course she wouldn't be able to see anything in the dark, so she could look for the room tomorrow. But also she might want to wait and do that later, see how far she could get before she needed any help.

She noticed it was quite and looked over to see Rumpelstiltskin looking at her with a frown.

"I'm worried, Little One. You haven't eaten again today." She could hear the concern in his voice. She looked down and saw that she had picked up her fork but was just pushing food around her plate. She put the fork down and shrugged.

"I found the Hedge Maze."

"I see." He was still frowning, then he blinked and humor entered his voice. "Do you intend to solve it?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"Well, be careful. If you need help or get lost, just call my name and I'll come and get you, alright?"

She nodded again and pushed off from the table. Once in her room she put the sprig of mint in the vase on her bedside table with the lavender. As she closed the door to the bathing chamber, she saw that once again, there was a tray on the fireplace table.


	3. Chapter 3

The Fire Protection Potion was a volatile potion to mix. It had to be tended to carefully throughout its entire brewing processes. Most didn't even try to make it as there was another potion that em_almost_/em did the same thing and was easier to make, the ingredients easier to come by. But the Knight had asked for this potion to help with the dragon his intended's father asked him to face.

Rumpelstiltskin was at the most temperamental step, the liquid had been boiling for the last four days over a the white-blue flame of a fallen star. At a careful distance he held the vial of dragons saliva, and he didn't want to think of what he had to do to get it from Maleficent. He needed fifteen drops over the course of a minute, too soon and the mixture would explode, too late and it would burn the drinker from the inside out. Drops one thru fourteen were find, but waiting for drop fifteen, he heard a furious shriek coming from outside. His hand slipped and the last drop went in to soon.

The boiling seemed to intensify before shooting upwards. He jumped out of the way as it rained down on him. What was left in the caldron started to smoke and he went to push the window the rest of the way open.

He looked out to the person who had screamed. He could see Belle in the Hedge Maze. It had been two weeks since she had found the maze and she has steadily made progress in solving the puzzle. Depending on which way she went from her current position, she was only about five or six turns from finding the center. Her current problem was that a baby Sphinx was guarding the next turn. He watched as she tried to shoo it away and when that didn't work, she tossed a rock down one of the lanes to get it to follow. He knew exactly when it asked her it's riddle.

She had been looking for another rock to toss, when she jumped and her head snapped to look at the Sphinx. She walked over, spoke, but the Sphinx just ruffled it's feathers. He took a step and appeared behind her.

"Please?" she asked it. "I won't harm you. I just want to pass by." Her attention was on the creature and he stepped quietly behind her.

"Having trouble?" he asked. She screamed and jumped away from him. He giggled.

"Don't do that!" she told him, hand pressed to her chest.

"I'm sorry, Little One." Her glare told him she knew he was lying.

"It won't let me pass!" She pointed to the Sphinx, who ruffled it's feathers again.

"Of course not," he replied. "Not until you answer correctly. What was the riddle? It's only a infant, so it shouldn't be too hard."

He stood watching, the unnatural feeling coming to him, as she opened her mouth, brow furrowed. She bit her lip and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I don't remember."

"That's all right." he said. It wasn't. Something about this was very wrong. "We'll ask again." he said and turned towards the creature. "Sphinx, I'd like to pass, what is your question?"

The Sphinx sat up straighter, cocked it's head and spoke. "em_**Voiceless it cries, wingless it flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters**_./em" It raised one eyebrow at them, then laid down to wait.

Rumpelstiltskin frowned. It really was easy, but he watched as Belle bit her lip again, face scrunched in concentration. After a few seconds, she looked up at him and shook her head. The wrongness of that slammed into him so hard that he took a step back.

"Well," he said, handing her a piece of parchment with the riddle on it, "think over it and if you haven't solved it by dinner, we'll see what we can do, all right?"

She nodded and took the parchment. He fluttered a smile her and disappeared back to his tower.

He walked back over to the table and cleared the mess to start the potion again. The flame was still flickering as he put a new caldron on the base. He was glad he had two made out of Wolframite, as no other metal could withstand the temperatures of the flame. He put 3 cups of Phoenix ash in and added water. As it steeped, he got the other ingredients ready and added them so the potion was ready to be set it aside to boil for the next four days. Then he retreated to the Great Hall and his spinning wheel.

As he prepped the straw, he pondered why watching Belle not be able to guess the Sphinx's riddle bothered him. He didn't know what Belle was suppose to be, what his foresight was insisting he help her achieve, but he got the feeling that she should have been able to answer the riddle. It truly was an easy one. He once again wondered what lengths Maurice went took to keep Belle 13 for seven centuries.

Something about that last thought struck him and he ruminated on it while the wheel spun.

The fading light had him looking up, he saw that the table was set for dinner. He tilted his head and em_searched/em_ the grounds for Belle. She was still in the Hedge Maze, once again he appeared behind her. Sitting with her legs crossed in front of her, elbows on knees, with her face cradled between her hands, the parchment forgotten in her lap. The Sphinx had curled up and gone to sleep.

"Belle?" She looked up. "It's time for dinner." He he held out his hand. With a sigh she stood and took it and he transported them back to the main hall. She took her seat, but seemed distracted, going between playing with her food and shooting glances at him from the corner of her eye. "What is it?"

"I couldn't answer the riddle."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You said you would help if I hadn't gotten it by dinner." She waved her hand at the table.

"True," he said, inclining his head. "Come with me. He pushed away from the table and out the double doors. He turned down a corridor he knew she hadn't been down yet. Once she caught up, he paused in front of another set of doors. He smirked down at her as she looked at him in curiosity. With a flourish, he pushed the doors open and stalked into the middle of the room. One more hand motion and the sconces all lit at the same time.

He watched as she blink, turning in a circle.

"A Library?"

"Yes. I'm sure I have some books in here on riddles."

Turning back to him, she frowned at him. "I don't understand." she told him, head shaking, "How will this help?"

His breath caught in his throat, once again the wrongness overwhelmed him. Her grown image appeared before his inner eye again. Head ducked, knowing smile at the corner of her lips, one hand out -beckoning, in the other was a book, held possessively against her chest, her thumb gently caressing the cover. He swallowed once before speaking.

"Belle, did your father let you have books?"

"Yes," she nodded, "He let me read his books on how to take care of flowers. And I still had one of nursery rhymes from when I was small." She frowned. "Ruby brought me one once, but Papa had to read it first to see if it was okay, I just realized that he never gave it to me."

"To...see if it was okay?"

"To see if it had any dangerous things in it. Papa say that knowledge can be dangerous."

Rumpelstiltskin clenched his fist, nails digging deeply into his palm.

"It can be," he said tightly, "if you have too little." He turned, not letting her see the emotions on his face. He knew that Maurice was overprotective, but not letting the child read was...

He shook his head and gestured to a table, a pile of books appearing on it. "I think these will help you the most if you wish to solve the Sphinx's riddles."

She walked over and picked up the first book, barely scanning the title. "Couldn't you just tell me the answer?"

"I could," he hedged, "but tomorrow he'll just have a different one. The best way to solve a problem is to have knowledge. You can take any of these up to your room if you wish."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Balance and CounterBalance  
Rating: Teen now, but will go up as the story goes on.  
Pairing: RumBelle  
Summary: A RumBelle fic vaguely based on the myth of Hades and Persephone

Belle's eyes slowly blinked open. Stretching, she tilted her head to the side to see where the sun was in the sky. It wasn't too long after midday, but it was already getting cooler. She pulled her blanket tighter around her and reached out a hand to make the garden swing that was the centerpiece to the hedge maze rock. She wiggled around to find a more comfortable position and picked up the book she was reading.

In the weeks since Rumpelstiltskin showed her the Library, she had gone through one whole bookcase. First the books he had suggested to help her solve the riddle. They were filled with different riddles and had the answers in the back. In the second book she had found the riddle that the Sphinx asked, but Rumpelstiltskin was right in that it asked a different riddle the next day. Over the next week she took the books with her where ever she went, she even had Rumpelstiltskin asked her some of the riddles at meal times. After a few days, she started to be able to think of the answers, it always made her head hurt, but in a good way.

She remember the day that Rumpelstiltskin put down the book and made up a riddle on the spot. She answered it after only a few moments thought. The look on his face, the way a smile stretched across his lips and his eyes lit up. She had been happy then, jumping out of her seat to hug him, but thinking back on it now three weeks later, it made her feel...funny.

A gust of wind had her shivering and she looked up to see cloud rolling in. She wrapped the blanket around her and picked up her books. She made her way back into the castle, but when she got to the main doors, one of them was open. She slowly entered the entrance hall and when she heard voices in the Great Hall, she tip-toed over and peeked in.

Rumpelstiltskin was standing next to the table, his hands were by his side, fist clenched. He looked like he wasn't happy but trying to hide it. Belle didn't know if the woman he was talking to didn't care or wasn't paying attention as stirred her cup of tea.

"And would you believe what she said to that?" the woman said, Belle tilted her head a little to get a better look at her. She wore an elaborate dress with a high jeweled collar.

"Regina, I couldn't care less what the idiots at court say." Rumpelstiltskin gritted out.

Regina. Belle knew that name. Her Papa told her to stay away from her just as he did Rumpelstiltskin. Said she made bad things happen.

"You should." She told him gleefully, taking a sip from the cup in her hand. "Really, Rumple. You told me you had no interest in the girl, and not three months later, I hear the you've abducted her. What could you possible want with her? And where is she? You don't have her stashed in one of these dreary rooms, do you?"

She turned her head to look around her. Belle eased back so she wouldn't be seen.

"What do you want, Regina?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, taking the cup from her and setting it down on the table.

"You know what I want."

He sighed. "And I've told you no. I'm not getting involved with your vendetta against Snow."

"It's justice!" She slammed her hand down on the table. "I want justice for what she did!"

"If you want justice for your mortal horse trainee's death, I suggest you stop fooling yourself and look to the _em_'W_ielder of Ambition'/em. _You are the only one who refuses to acknowledge that his death was arranged by Cora. And until you do, you will never have your 'justice'!"

"Fine!" She stood, pushing off of the table so hard the heavy chair fell over. "If you won't help me, I'll find someone else. I'm sure _em_'_Scorn'/em _would be more then happy to."

"Oh, Dearie," he chuckled, "You're more delusional then I thought if you think you can get Milah to do anything but play with her pet pirate."

She threw her hand out and a scroll appeared on the table. "You've been summoned." A deep purple smoke enveloped her and she was gone.

"You can come in now, Little One." Rumpelstiltskin said, after all the smoke was gone, never taking his eyes off the scroll. As Belle approached, she could see the seal on the scroll. The Bluebirds and swords of the High Court stood out until Rumpelstiltskin flung out a hand it the scroll burst into flames. He kept his eyes of the scroll, watching as it became no more then cinders on the table, which he vanished with a flick of a finger.

"Don't you have to go?" she asked.

"What?" He looked over at her distractedly "Oh, no." He smiled at her. "I don't."

"But she said you've been summoned? When Papa got a summons, he said we had to go the Court."

"Yes, well, I'm not going. If they want to see me, they can come here. If they can get through the wards, that is." He moved over to his spinning wheel and she settled in a chair by the fireplace to read.

It was quite for a while, with only the creak of the wheel and the crackle of the fire. Belle grew sleepy and was drifting off again when a loud banging made her jump. Rumpelstiltskin paused in his spinning, head cocked to the side and she saw a smirk on his lips, before he went back to spinning. The banging happened again, he continued spinning.

"What is it?"

"Nothing to be worried about, Little One." He told her, standing a pulling aside one of the curtains. "You're going to have to do better that that," he whispered to the window. The sound cut off mid-bang, but was quickly followed by a tremendous clap of thunder and the smell of ozone as lightening struck the courtyard outside the window. He let the curtains fall back and turned towards her. "Looks like a storms coming, Little One."

The satisfied smile on his face made her uneasy.

The storm was non-stop. For hours the sound of fat raindrop striking the windowpanes, the clap of thunder and the tingle of lightening echoed throughout the Dark Castle. It put Belle on edge so that even now, hours after they had retired to bed, she couldn't sleep. She had almost gotten to sleep once, but a particularly close lightening strike had her sitting up and hugging her pillow. She had never really liked storms, when she was little, she would run to her Papa until they were over.

She had done that less the last few years, but right now all she wanted was her Papa's arms around her telling her she was safe. But Papa wasn't here. And she didn't know if she would ever see her Papa again. She jumped at another loud clap of thunder, and before she knew it, she was down the hall. Still clutching her pillow, she eased the knob of the door she stopped in front of.

Rumpelstiltskin's room was a lot like her's, just darker colors. The fire had died down, so most of the light came from the lightening flashes. She stood in the doorway, waiting for the way to be illuminated. She slowly made her way to the bed, but a lightening strike that seem just outside the window had her jumping the last foot to the bed.

"What!" Rumpelstiltskin said, sitting up as she scrambled to get under the covers and burrow against his side. "Little One? What are you doing?"

She looked up at him and could feel her eyes filling with tears. He sighed and shook his head. He pulled her to him and pressed a kiss to her head, "It's alright, Little One. I've got you." She lay so that her head was on his chest, his heartbeat loud in her ear drowned out the storm as she drifted off to sleep.

The storm was still going in the morning. Belle spent most of it exploring parts of the Castle she hadn't been to yet as Rumpelstiltskin spent most of the day in his workroom. She tried to sleep that night, but found herself outside his room again. When she opened the door, she saw that he was sitting up, a candle lit on the bedside table and a book in hand. He put the book down and held out his hand. She climbed up onto the bed and he blew out the candle. She settled against him, making sure to find his heartbeat with her ear and letting it pull her into sleep.

Her dreams that night were strange. Fleeting images and impressions that she could barely remember when she woke up. They unsettled her and at the same time let a strange anticipation. As she came completely awake, she realized that she was alone in the bed. Rumpelstiltskin was standing at the window, on hand resting on the frame, shoulders hunched, as he looked out into the storm. He must have heard her, as he spun around and smiled at her, asking how she slept.

After answering, she hurried to her room to change for the day and meet him in the Great Hall for breakfast. He told her that he had to attend to and would be gone most of the day, and that if she needed him, all she had to do was call his name. After he left, she went to the Library and curled up on a chaise near one of the windows. Somehow the storm didn't bother her as much during the day.

She tried to get lost in one of the books she had set aside, but couldn't find it interesting. She put it down and looked through the shelves, hand running along the spines, for something to catch her eye. She stopped randomly and picked up the book under her hand and took it back to the chaise. This one kept her interest as she journeyed with the Hero to save his Lady. She slammed the book shut, eyes wide, when the Hero rescued his Lady and the story didn't end after he got a kiss.

That feeling was back, the one that accompanied her dreams last night. The unsettled excitement and anticipation. She thought back to her dreams, trying to remember _emsomething/em_ about them. The only thing she knew for sure was that Rumpelstiltskin was in them, but he was different somehow. Shorter, she thought, closer to her height. He didn't tower over her so much.

She didn't realize how lost in her thought she had gotten until Rumpelstiltskin appeared in the Library to tell her he was back. She blinked when she saw him. He had taken off his hide coat and was only in a shirt and waistcoat. His wave hair brushing against the high collar. Something about it made the unsettled excitement and anticipation in her stomach turn into butterflies.

They remained most of the night as she snuck glances at him as she pretend to read by the fire. They kicked up a storm to rival the one outside when she didn't even try to sleep in her room that night, only detouring there to change into her nightgown, before crawling into his bed.

"Are you all right, Little One?" he asked as the settled down, "You've been quite all night." She answered him with half a shrug as she moved her head to find his heartbeat. He sighed an pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Sleep well."

She didn't, thought. Her dreams was strange again, but not like the night before. She felt pressured, confined, restless. She needed to break free of whatever was trapping her, causing her to toss and turn all night. She dozed off and on between bouts of dreams and finally when she opened her eyes in the morning to see the sun shining for the first time in days, she couldn't enjoy it.

She ached. Every limb, every muscle ached. With a groan, she turned her face into his shoulder at the ache and the constricted feeling around her chest, even as the butterflies started to dance at the scent of his skin. She reached down to straighten her nightgown, when she felt something was wrong, her legs felt wrong. Looking down, she gasped and scrambled up and fell out of the bed. Looking at herself, she screamed in terror.


	5. Chapter 5

The scream had Rumpelstiltskin jolting out of sleep. He rolled out of bed, hand coming up, fireball at the ready, eyes searching the room for whoever was threatening Belle. But as he blinked sleep away, he saw no one and waved his hand to dispel the fire, as he continued to gaze around the room for Belle.

"Little One?" he called.

His hand came back up as a woman stood up on the other side of the bed. She was breathing heavily and staring at her outstretched hands with a look of panicked terror. She was wearing a short gown that barely covered her. It was twisted around her, pulled up to show most of her shapely legs, and did little to hide her the tops of her breast which were becoming more uncovered as she breathed heavily, rosy half circles of her areola peaking out from the hem as it dropped lower.

He gave himself a shake, swallowing hard and forced his eyes to her face, as long disused parts of his body took notice. It might have been nearly two centuries since his relationship with Milah ended, the only good thing coming out of it was his son, Baelfire. And wasn't it humorous that _'Balance' _and _'Scorn' _somehow created '_Second Chances_', but he wasn't going to ogle a strange woman, even if she did appear half naked in his bedroom. Besides she was obviously in some distress and he didn't know where Belle was.

With shaking movements she looked up at him, her chestnut hair falling away from her face and he met her eyes.

Her blue eyes. Blue eyes in a face he had seen before in one of his vision.

"Be-Belle?"

"Wh-what did you do?" she asked, her voice shaking and tear filled. "What did you do to me?

"Me? I did nothing."

"Don't lie, Rumpelstiltskin! What did you do? Turn me back!"

"I can't. I didn't do anything."

"Please, Rumpelstiltskin?"

"I can't, Belle. I really didn't do anything." He put a knee on the bed and reach out for her, but she backed away. "Belle, you're growing up. This was inevitable. It should have happened before now, slowly, not so suddenly, but-"

"But what?"

"Your father kept this from happening. So now that you're away from him..." He trailed off and gestured to her.

"Why would Papa stop it?"

"I-I can't answer that."

She deflated in front of him, shoulders drooping, head bowed as she turned to sit on the bed. "I'm so confused. I don't-don't-" Her shoulders shook as she started to cry. He moved across the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms, rocking her gently.

"It'll be okay." he told her, suddenly knowing it was true. His sense of f_oresight_ tingling in the back of his mind. "It'll all work out somehow." He held her until her crying tapered off. "Now, first thing first," he said, urging her to stand, before waving his hand at her and enveloping her in the purple smoke of his magic. When it dissipated, she was standing in the blue dress he had always seen her wearing in his visions.

She deflated in front of him, shoulders drooping, head bowed as she turned to sit on the bed. "I'm so confused. I don't-don't-" Her shoulders shook as she started to cry. He moved across the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms, rocking her gently.

"It'll be okay." he told her, suddenly knowing it was true. His sense of foresight tingling in the back of his mind. "It'll all work out somehow." He held her until her crying tapered off. "Now, first thing first," he said, urging her to stand, before waving his hand at her and enveloping her in the purple smoke of his magic. When it dissipated, she was standing in the blue dress he had always seen her wearing in his visions.

They went down for breakfast and he was worried as Belle was still quite, pushing her food around the plate. He was just about to suggest that she take a walk outside when a crack echoed throughout the room. He snapped his head towards the window, a frown forming on his face.

"Remain in the castle until I return, please?" he asked and waited until she nodded before vanishing.

He materialized at the front gate, but stood there invisible watching the two men on the other side. The one with dirty blond hair stood with his back facing the gate, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, watching as the other bigger man lifted an oversized shovel and brought it down on the gate. A resounding clang echoed in the air as he was thrown back as it rebounded off his the wards, but he got right back up and hit it again.

"Stop! Maurice, stop!" Charming said, reaching out to grasp Belle's father's arm.

"No! I'm going to get my daughter back from that _monster_!"

"Yes, we will get her back, but this is obviously not going to work."

Maurice shook off Charming's hand and with a scream hit the gate again.

"You know," Rumpelstiltskin said, taking a step towards the gate and becoming visible. "he's right. You'll never get through the wards like that."

"Give me my daughter back!" Maurice charged the gate, shaking it in his hands. "You monster! If you hurt her, I'll make sure you never die! You will live in pain for the rest of your immortal life!"

Rumpelstiltskin let the man rant, thinking what he would have done to someone who had taken Bae from him before the boy was grown. But that was the problem, wasn't it. Belle should have been long past full grown. It shouldn't have just happened this morning.

After a few more minutes, Charming placed a hand on the _Flower Marker's _shoulder. He quieted and the _Patron of Justice__ stepped forward. _

_ "Rumpelstiltskin, you have kidnapped the minor child Belle. You must return her to her father and surrender yourself to justice for your crimes." _

_ "Hm?" Rumpelstiltskin steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and paced in front of the gate, before turning on his heel to face them. "Sorry, I can't do that." _

_ "Give her back!" Maurice started to charge the gate again, but Charming caught him. _

_ "I can't return the child I took. It's not in my power to do so."_

_ "Rumpelstiltskin!" _

_ "However," he cut Charming off, "If Belle decides to return," he spread his hands, "Well, that's her decision." He stared at Maurice. "No one should take that from her!"_

_ "Of course Belle wants to come home!" He turned to Charming. "Do something!" _

_ Charming sighed._

_ "Maurice, why don't you return to the High Castle. I need a word with Rumpelstiltskin."_

_ Maurice looked between the two of them. _

_ "Fine, but if you don't return with my daughter, I'll find someone who can!" He stalked off. They watched him leave and Charming turned back with another sigh. _

_ "I've dealt with you before, Rumpelstiltskin. I know there is more to you then you let the gossips talk about. What's going on?" Why won't you let the girl go?"_

_ "It's not time yet."_

_ "What does that mean?"_

_ "I'm not sure." he said slowly, mind turned inward to his foresight. "Things are in motion and I can't see all of the possible outcomes, but I know it is not time for Belle to return. She's not ready yet to handle her roll in the future." He met Charming's eyes, his senses screaming out a warning. "And neither are you. Prepare yourself. Something's coming." _

_ He watched Charming's eyes widen as he __let his magic envelop him and move him__ to his spinning wheel. He needed to think._


End file.
